It all depends on who you ask, the House Education Standing Committee heard Monday before voting 7-5 to advance a measure that would provide $7 million to allow school districts and charter schools to create voluntary full-day kindergarten in schools with large populations of disadvantaged students.

HB107, sponsored by Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, has widespread support from educators, and all-day kindergarten is part of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s education plan.

But education committee chairwoman Rep. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, said the concept of all-day kindergarten "saddens" her. She and other committee members suggested the measure might be abused to provide state-funded day care. It might draw funding from other needed programs and might someday become mandatory, she said.

Children profit most from instruction at home by their parents, Dayton said. "Why turn children over to government-run schools as soon as we can?" she asked.

"In an ideal setting, I couldn't agree more," Holdaway said. "But we don't live in an ideal world anymore, and some families can't provide that."

Under his bill, schools eligible to create all-day kindergarten programs would be those with the greatest need as measured by the percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced-price school lunch.

At least 85 percent of students enrolled in the kindergarten programs would have to be those identified through pre-kindergarten readiness testing as needing early intervention.

Christine Kearl, Huntsman's education deputy, said some children enter kindergarten with academic levels expected of 2-year-olds, while others achieve at a fourth-grade level. Full-day kindergarten targets underprivileged, under-served, at-risk children, and maximizes the probability that they will catch up with their peers and read on grade level, she said.

Patti Harrington, state superintendant of public instruction, said national research shows full-day kindergarten has long-term benefits, such as reducing remediation costs and the need for children to repeat grades later.

The committee received information from Salt Lake City and Box Elder school districts showing promising gains on achievement tests for at-risk students in all-day kindergarten pilot programs.

Committee members voting against HB107 included Dayton; Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Draper; Rep. John Dougall, R-Highland; Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper; and Rep. Merlynn Newbold, R-South Jordan.

It now advances to the full House for consideration.